At Whole Foods Tamarac's launch of the MyChelle Imaging System, I discovered that this advanced technology doesn't just provide a reflection: It digs deep, showing how lifestyle affects skin and offering consumers customized skin care solutions.

At Whole Foods Tamarac's launch of the MyChelle Imaging System, I discovered that this advanced technology doesn't just provide a reflection: It digs deep, showing how lifestyle affects skin and offering consumers customized skin care solutions.

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A big heart and kind spirit are great, don’t get me wrong, but for now we’re not digging deep in the name of inner beauty: The new MyChelle Imaging System examines beneath our skin’s surface (the epidermis) into the dermis layer to analyze how our individual lifestyles affect our appearance—and then matches us with the right products for our skin types. We all have bad habits … but isn’t it all too often that we try to conceal them?

The technology, which doctors and dermatologists have used for years (with a price tag of around $200 per session), is now available as a free service at Whole Foods. After getting a topical and subsurface scan of your face, you’ll receive a percentile ranking in eight areas: skin irregularities, wrinkles, texture, pores, UV spots, skin discolorations, vascular areas, and bacteria and oil. Once you have your series of photos and rankings (brace yourself) a Whole Body Team Leader compiles an analysis and customized list of products. If you’ve ever questioned whether “natural” beauty products really work, come back 30 days later for a follow-up, then 30 days after that, etc. The system shows results as they relate to your skin, not some clinical study.

That’s me getting my scan at Whole Foods Tamarac (watch it in action!), the first in the Rocky Mountain region to carry the system and only the third in the nation. Some of my scores were well above average (pore size, discoloration, and sun damage–woohoo!). But while my sunscreen diligence and appropriate exfoliation paid off, I also had to face the areas where my not-so-good habits came into play: Taking matters into my own hands with late-night, “at-home facials” or being too lenient with my eye cream.

I left with a list of MyChelle products (which, might I add, I am very excited about using)—including the Apple Brightening series that features up-and-coming plant stem cells, Pumpkin Renew Cream, Fabulous Eye Cream, and Sun Shield SPF 28 Coconut. But also in that ten-minute session? I gained a far deeper understanding of my skin as it relates to my lifestyle habits, and a way to match these factors with the right products for me. Crossover personal care shoppers (as well as dedicated ones) need this education to feel confident about making decisions in the natural personal care section, plus, they want proof of efficacy to transition from conventional products they’ve been using for years.

The MyChelle Imaging System isn’t just a reflection of what we want to see. It digs deeper and represents the growing movement towards realizing that skin care truly is about lifestyle, the topic of my June skin care feature. You’ll leave your session with awesome new products—and probably a new outlook on skin care too. Many of us need this personalized (sometimes slightly unnerving) approach to make significant skin care changes, some of which won’t just improve our complexions, but also our long-term health. Spend too much time in the sun or eat too much sugar? MyChelle Imaging System will tell you. Don’t exfoliate enough? No buffer there. Think extractions are acceptable under a fluorescent light in your bathroom? Time to break those bad habits.

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